"Championing young composers is at the forefront of my practice," Penton says. "One of the ways to do that is not only to perform, but to record their work in different formats. Having both my first recording and my first music video — different manifestations of the same creative output — brings a sense of completeness to this journey." By Joel Luks for CultureMap.
Read More →
Misha Penton named Finalist for Best Artistic Director by Houston Press Theater Awards Houston Press Art Attack.
Read More →
"Misha Penton, soprano and artistic director of Divergence Vocal Theater, unearthed Isabella's story while ambling through the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where the 1897 oil on canvass by American painter John White Alexander of Isabella and the Pot of Basil was on view" By Joel Luks for CultureMap Houston.
Read More →
"Divergence Music & Arts is Divergence Vocal Theater's new venue in the burgeoning Spring Street Studios in the Lower Washington Cultural Arts District, best described as an inspiring, non-traditional, funky, comfortable, lofty, garage-grungy warehouse studio space for chamber arts, specifically chamber music and chamber opera." By Joel Luks for CultureMap Houston.
Read More →
"In Houston, Divergence Vocal Theater broke convention and presented yet another standing-room-only show. Klytemnestra continues DVT's continuum to define the genre of vocal theater...Artistic director Misha Penton rocked the role of the subversive female. Composer Dominick DiOrio's post-modern, yet accessible, style clearly draws inspiration from the past." By Joel Luks for CultureMap Houston.
Read More →
"Klytemnestra, a collaborative opera dance theater work featuring music by composer Dominick DiOrio, sung text by Misha Penton, spoken text by John Harvey, and choreography by Meg Brooker, is receiving a great deal of positive press in advance of its premier April 15th and 16th at Divergence Music & Arts." By Chris Becker for Sequenza21.
Read More →
"Juxtaposing poetry, dance and French music composed or arranged for voice and harp, soprano Misha Penton, harpist Joanna Elliott Whitsett, dancer Meg Booker and actress Miranda Herbert created a deliciously sensual ambiance of refined ecstasy. Misha Penton's interpretation of Reynaldo Hahn's Paysage showed her exquisite and succulent vocal range, technically and artistically." By Joel Luks for CultureMap Houston.
Read More →
"The collaborators are Misha’s dream team and secret weapon. The work began with poetry she wrote after seeing a sea lion off the rugged coast of British Columbia. This poetry became the libretto for the work, magnificently set to music by Elliot Cooper Cole. At times the sound was so lush and full, I could hardly believe it was not played by a much larger ensemble. " By MaryBeth Smith, SOMAQuest.
Read More →
"There is always something magical about opening night..From the sophisticated socialite to the indie chic, the over-capacity crowd lounged comfortably on velvety floor pillows, mismatched chairs, rockers and loungers, awaiting a musicale that captured the raison d'être of the avant-garde ensemble." By Joel Luks for CultureMap Houston.
Read More →
"The entire evening, around the theme “Autumn Spectre,” was one of achingly beautiful sensory demand. The performance defied all traditional expectations of making sense, if you needed a story line, characters, conflict, or moral. However, sense was made in the way love is made, one delicious sensation at a time." By MaryBeth Smith / FELDENKRAIS Houston.
Read More →
"A lot of people are doing a lot of things to “save” opera these days – from staging brand-new world premieres the way Houston Grand Opera does almost every season to staging nothing but the oldest, most-proven seat-fillers like Carmen and La Boheme. This new Houston-based troupe led by singer-artistic director Misha Penton finds yet another way, mixing the musical form known as opera with modern dance, poetry and just about anything else that strikes their fancy." By John De Mers for ArtsHouston.
Read More“This past weekend was the second production from new indie performance company, Divergence Vocal Theater. The 10th Muse was a musical, theatrical, poetic meditation on love, heartbreak, and other such manipulations of Eros. Artistic director, Misha Penton, pulled from Berlioz, Gounod, and Boulanger (among others) for music.” By Neil Ellis Orts for Neonuma Arts.
Read More →
"Misha Penton, the artistic director of Divergence Vocal Theater, is back to her usual trouble making ways, rethinking the way we see and hear opera. Her newest opus, The 10th Muse, combines scenes and arias from Gounod's opera, Sapho, and Berllioz' Les Troyens."
Read More"Houston’s newest “opera” company, made its debut with The Ottavia Project, Artistic Director Misha Penton’s telling of the story of Octavia, scorned wife of the Roman Emperor Nero, through a fusion of elements from Monteverdi’s opera L’Incoronazione di Poppea. But while these recent productions may harken back to the mists of time, their treatments are thoroughly modern in keeping with Houston’s commitment to the cutting edge.” By St. John Flynn / KUHF Houston NPR
Read More"Just because Claudio Monteverdi wrote his historic L’incoronazione di Poppea in 1642 doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. Not so in the hands of opera renegade Misha Penton, who launched her new multi-disciplinary endeavor, Divergence Vocal Theater, with The Ottavia Project this month at Barnevelder. She’s not kidding about the divergence part; her program note she welcomes the opera police to come drag her away in chains. Penton, a natural troublemaker, is more interested in stirring up questions than providing a neat and tidy package." By Nancy Wozny for Dance Hunter.
Read More"Next weekend, the result of her creativity is Divergence Vocal Theater’s premiere. Music old and new, dance, and literature combine to bring voices and people together in a way that is fresh and compelling. I can’t wait to see what the production, “The Ottavia Project,” will be like. Opera with an edge? Divergence Vocal Theatre is something fresh on Houston’s musical landscape." By MaryBeth Smith / FELDENKRAIS Houston.
Read More →